TBI makes positive ID on dead woman found shot to death Saturday

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation overnight positively identified the dead female found shot and burned in Summitville Saturday as Connie Lou Brown, 51, of McMinnville. Brown was identified by fingerprints.

A dead body was discovered near a cave off Firetower Rd. in Summitville at approximately 1 p.m. Saturday. Authorities haven't yet released the name of the woman. Pictured from left near the scene are Coffee County Sheriff's Department investigators Chad Partin, Kerry Farrar, Larry Floyd and Manchester Police Department investigator Butch Stewart. (Staff photo by Josh Peterson)

According to TBI public information officer Kristin Helm, Brown had no fixed street address.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Saturday, Brown’s charred body was found Saturday by Jerry Allen, who was riding a four-wheeler in the quarry area, who then notified authorities.

According to Capt. Frank Watkins of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, the body was one time at another location and her assailant dumped her body in the quarry.

“Her body was then set on fire and partially burned,” the deputy said.

According to the TBI, she died of a gunshot wound to the chest area. Identifying the body was somewhat of a problem for TBI, which issued a release Monday asking for statewide help with identifying the body by describing the body as between 4’8″ and 5’2″ and weighting between 100-120 pounds with blonde or auburn hair, a black shirt with orange writing, no bottom teeth and dentures as top teeth.

According to Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves, after the body was discovered and investigators arrived they sought the assistance of the TBI Mobile Crime Lab.

The mobile unit arrived and with the assistance of deputies, officers began to collect evidence from the area.

“Because the crime scene was the quarry, we had a large crime scene and potential evidence to collect from the area,” Graves said.

According Helm, the medical examiner was not able to determine how long Brown’s body had been in the quarry, “but TBI agents believe she had been there for only a couple of days.”